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J. T. HAWKINS. Feeding Mechanism for Printing-Machines.

No. 228,529. Patented June 8.1880. q

NITED STATES JOHN T. HAWKINS, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

FEEDING MECHANISM FOR PRINTING=MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 228,529, dated June 8, 1880,

Application filed September 11, 1879.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN T. HAWKINS, of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Feeding Mechanisms for Printing-Presses, which improvement is fully set forth and illustrated in the following specification and accompanying drawings.

The object of the invention is to arrange the parts of the feeding mechanism of a continuously-rotary cylinder -press in such manner that the griper-edge of the sheet throughout the whole length of such edge shall have nothing to prevent it from being clamped smoothly and flat upon the cylinder-surface, and also that the paper at the time the gripers close upon it shall be in motion in the same direction and practically at the same velocity with which the cylinder and gripers are moving, thus obviating all tendency to either lat eral or longitudinal imperfection of register.

It is also the object of the invention, while the paper is moving with the cylinder and while the gripers are closing, to hold the paper firmly in position-and prevent either the action of the gripers or inattention of the attendant feeder from causing displacement of the sheet at this critical time.

The invention consists of certain adjustable sheet-rests and oscillating frictional sectors, and also of several combinations with the said elements of certain guides or arms, as hereinafter described in detail in connection with the accompanying drawings, and also specifically set forth in the claims forming part of this specification.

Before describing the invention in detail and its method of operation, the advantages of securing the above-mentioned objects will now be set forth in brief.

In the variety of press designated as the stop-cylinder press the sheet, the cylinder, and the gripers are all at rest when the sheet is taken by the gripers, which fact permits of so arranging the guides to which the sheets are fed that nothing is required to intervene between the griper-edge of the sheet and the cylinder upon which it rests, and both the sheet and the cylinder being at rest when the sheet is seized by the gripers, correct register is more perfectly effected than in those varieties of presses in which the cylinder is in motion while the sheet is at rest. In the said varieties of presses imperfect register may easily occur when the gripers take the motionless sheet from two causes-one due to variations in the speed of the press, which variations, whenever any imperfection occurs from wear or otherwise in the griper-niotion, may cause the gripers to fall in sufficiently diverse positions to affect the register in the direction of the line of travel of the sheet. The other cause is due to the fact that in all such presses the guides to which the paper is fed must each be provided with some device to prevent the sheet from being fed under the guide, such devices being generally in the form of thin strips of metal, called guide-rests, which rests necessarily extend beyond the guides to allow of their adjustment for varying widths of margin, and also must and do lie close to the cylinders surface. These guide-rests, also unavoidably extending beyond the line of the edge of the paper when in the position in which the gripers close upon it, hold those parts of the paper resting upon them from bein g brought in contact with the cylinders surface, while at all other parts of the griperedge of the paper said edge is brought into firm contact with the cylinder by the gripers, and then slides over said rests as the gripers and cylinder carry the paper forward. The effect of such construction and action is to give to the griper-edge of the paper as many corrugations not resting upon the cylinders surface as there are rests used. As the sheets are fed also laterally to guides in order to perfect the lateral register, this corrugating of the griper-edge of the sheet has the effect of either stretching, tearing, or displacing the sheet laterally, thus in either case interfering with or preventing perfect lateral register.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional end elevation of a printing-press provided with a feeding mechanism embodying this invention. Fig.2 is a sectional side elevation of the press provided with the same feeding mechanism.

In Fig. 1 the gripers g g are shown at about the proper point in their revolution for seizing the sheet. In Fig. 2, in order to obviate confusion of lines and for the sake of clearer illustration, the gripers g g are shown in position about one-fourth of a revolution of the cylinder before reaching their position shown in Fig. l. r

In the said figures, the letter A designates a part of the side frame, and B the cylinder, of that form of press in which the cylinder makes one revolution to each impression printed.

The gripers are designated by the letters 9 g, and the feed-board by the letter F. Cams 0 O are secured to one head of the cylinder 13. The shaft S is secured in hearings to the under side of the feed-board F. To one end of the shaft S is secured the lever L, carrying a roller, R, upon its free end, which roller is actuated by the cam (J, the said cam having its circular part concentric with the cylinders surface, except for a shortdistance, as at c, where it has a slight rise.

Upon the shaft S are two short arms, a a, each having secured thereon a thin blade, I), which blades extend nearly to the cylinders surface, and lie nearly at a tangent to it at their outer ends. These arms a a are adj ustable laterally upon the shaft S.

The shaft S oscillates in bearings secured to the side frames, or it may be supported in suitable brackets secured to the feed-board, or otherwise, and carries a lever, L, the free end of which is actuated by the cam G, which thereby partially rotates said shaft, and thereafter maintains said lever in the proper position until the rear end of the sheet has passed, when the following end of the cam C releases the lever, and it is returned to its original position against the stop t by means of the coiled spring s, which reverses the rotation of the shaft S.

Upon the shaft S are secured two sectors, 8 8, having each a convex surface concentric with the shaft S. The said sectors are provided upon their said concentric faces with a covering of india-rubber, leather, or other substance suitable for exerting friction upon the upper side of the sheet of paper, or said faces may be of metal properly serrated to produce the same result.

The thin blades 1) I), carried by and forming part of the arms a a, are highly polished upon their upper sides, so as to offer a minimum of resistance to the movement of the paper upon them.

To the front part of each sector 8 is secured a thin plate, G, an offset, 0, on each of which plates passes at the side of and below each of the thin blades b I), attached to the arms a a. On the shaft S are also secured guide-arms 5] g, which occupy a similar position with reference to two other arms intermediate and similar to a a, but obscured in the drawings in Fig. 1 by the gripers g g and in Fig. 2 by the arms a a.

In the printing of but one color or of but one side of the paper the guide-arms g g and the two intermediate arms, a a, may be dispensed with, the thin plates G G, secured to the sectors 8 s, then serving as guides to which the paper is to be-fed; but in case both sides are to be printed, or more than one color is to be printed upon the same side of the sheet; the sectors 8 s and the two outer arms, a a, with their blades'b I), must be so placed upon their respective shafts as to come upon the unprinted margin of the sheets, in which case the arms 9 9 only are utilized as guides, and the thin plates Gr Gron the sectors 8 s are dispensed with.

The operation of the invention is as follows: A sheet being fed to the guides G G or g g, (as the case may be,) at the proper time the small rise 0 upon the cam O elevates the arms a a and presses the sheet firmly against the faces of the sectors 8 8. At this time the cam O, acting against the lever L, rotates the sec' tors s s, causing either the guides G G or g 9 (according to whichever of said guides are used) to move out of the way of the advancing sheet, and also causing the sheet to slide upon the polished blades b b, secured to the arms a a, the cam O and lever L being so formed and proportioned that the respective surfaces of sectors 8 s (and consequently the paper also) move at practically the same velocity as the cyliuders surface at the time the gripers g g are closing upon the paper. By the time the gripers have complete hold of the sheet the rise 0 on the cam C has passed, a1 lowing the arms a a to drop slightly, releasing the sheet, and the lever L then rests upon the concentric part of the cam C until the following edge of the sheet has passed, when the sectors 8 .9 drop into position to receive another sheet. The action of the rubber, leather, or serrated surface of the sectors 8 s operates to move the paper upon the polished blades b b beneath positively and accurately, at the same time holding it securely and accurately in position with reference to the moving cylinder.

This invention therefore allows a maximum time for feeding to the guides, and firmly gripes and holds fast the paper before it commences to move, so that the attendant feeder may neglect the paper the moment it is secured beout danger of its becoming displaced by vibrations of the machinery or other causes, and from that time he may give his attention to the succeeding sheet. The sheet being carried by the sectors 8 8 beyond the ends of the arms a a, the edge of the sheet throughoutits entire length lies flat upon the cylinders surface without anything between the cylinder and said edge, while the paper is moving at practically the same velocity as the cylinder itself, and for these two reasons the register becomes as perfect as can be obtained upon the stop-cylinder press above mentioned.

It is notdesigned that the method herein described of imparting motion to the shafts S and S, and thereby to the arms a a and sectors s 8, shall always be employed; for in presses wherein the cylinder makes more than tween the arms a a and the sectors 8 s withone revolution to each impression printed the cams O 0 may be carried upon gears so proportioned that the cams can make but one revolution to each impression, while the cylinder makes two or three revolutions, as the case may be.

Having thus fully described this feeding mechanism and its mode of operation as of my invention, I claim 1. In a printing-press, the sheet-rests a (1, provided with flexible blades 1) 1), between which blades and other parts of the mechanism the sheet is first automatically clamped and then released, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

'2. The oscillating sectors 8 s, respectively provided with a concentric frictional surface and guides G, substantially'as and for the pur poses set forth.

3. The combination of the oscillating sectors s 8, provided with guides G G, and the oscillating sheet-rests a a, provided with flexible blades 1) 1), whereby the sheet of paper to be printed is clamped, moved, and released at the times and for the purposes substantially 2 5 as set forth.

4:. The oscillating sectors 8 s, in combination with the attached set of guides G G and separate set of guides g 9, one or both sets, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

5. The oscillating sectors 8 s, in combination with the attached set of guides G G and separate set of guides g 9, one or both sets, and the oscillating arms a a, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

6. The combination of the adjustable oscillating sectors 8 s and the adjustable oscillating sheet-rests a a, provided with flexible blades 1) I), whereby sheets of varying Widths are fed to the gripers of the press by marginal contact only with any part of the feed mechanism, thus preventing the marring of the printed matter, substantially as set forth.

JOHN T. HAWKINS.

WVitnesses:

S. W. HOLOOMB, OYRUs B. GALE. 

